Inside The Bills

His first week with the Bills at training camp, Brandon Spikes was falling all over himself thanks to a full calendar year away from the game. The veteran linebacker was on his couch in 2015, unable to latch on with a club. Now three weeks in with Buffalo, Spikes feels his game rounding back into form.

“Like night and day,” Spikes told Buffalobills.com. “The first day I just felt out of shape and my balance I was all over the place on the ground falling down. Now I’m getting back to myself. I feel like I still have a long way to go, but as long as I can stay at it every day and keep my head in the playbook I’ll be fine. Right now I’m a little hesitant about certain stuff, but it comes with the reps.”

Spikes’ greatest asset is his ability to diagnose run versus pass. He had a couple of plays where he made tackles in the run front before offensive linemen could even set their blocks.

“I see him getting better and better and I think he’s playing more,” said head coach Rex Ryan. “He actually looks quicker. He’s taking to the defense. I love the temperament that he has. I think that’s a real positive. All the guys in that locker room, they look up to him. They all respect him and I think that’s a real positive as well.”

“I would say 75-80 percent of that is instincts and 20 percent is film study,” said Spikes of his run-pass diagnosis. “I knew what was going to happen and they did exactly what the coaches said they would do and I was able to read and react. And that’s one of the things I’m good at is stopping the run.”

Spikes still brings the wood when he hits ball carriers as well, but right now he’s hoping to finish the preseason strong so he can lock down one of the team’s 53 roster spots.